Very occasionally, the Plex app will work properly when playing music. Play/pause and skip controls will appear in my notification bar (on its own line like you’d have seen prior to Android 11), which also means they are present on the lock screen, so I can do that stuff without unlocking. During the times when that’s working, Bluetooth controls also work, meaning I can play/pause, skip, etc. via the controls on a headset.
HOWEVER, pretty frequently the controls will stop appearing in the notification bar. It’s always the case that when this occurs, Bluetooth controls also don’t work, UNLESS I happen to have the Plex app up on screen at the time. Then Bluetooth controls will work. The fact that the notification thing and Bluetooth always seem to stop working at the same time makes me think that something in the way Plex is “presenting” itself to the OS as a media player is broken. Like when Android sees a command, it doesn’t send it on to Plex because it isn’t aware that’s what it should do, ya know? I’m not really a programmer, hope that makes sense.
I didn’t have this problem when I was on Android 10, it all started with the 11 upgrade. My instinct is that it’s somehow related to that thing Android 11 does with the dedicated media control area in the notification bar.
Having same problem.
But I thought that it doesn’t work at all, then I found this thread and tested it with notification bar open, it worked few minutes, after it disappeared from notification bar and controls stopped working. Even when I opened a Plex app it continued not working.
I’m having the same issue but I was able to test with multiple cars and devices. I have a 2016 Subaru Outback without android auto, a 2017 Ford Mustang with android auto, a Galaxy S8 and a Pixel 4a 5G. The issue happens with any combination of cars and phones and, to me, it happens 100% of the time I’m trying to listen to music through bluetooth. Not only the player’s notification goes away but the controls in Google Maps also vanishes. Bluetooth controls won’t work and music information is not displayed on the infotainment screen.
Server Version: 1.24.3.5033
Player Version: 8.23.1.28053 (android 11)
Replying to keep this thread active. I’ve had the same exact problem with Plex after my Motorola edge+ updated to Android 11 earlier this year. Sometimes the player control notification and Bluetooth controls work after I start Plex, sometimes they don’t. Some combination of restarting Plex, play/pause, switch in/out, lock/unlock eventually gets it back, but I haven’t discerned the pattern.
I’m experiencing the same issues here. Bluetooth to my car shows track metadata and play/pause/skip controls briefly when I start my drive, but once my phone screen sleeps I usually lose these within a track or two. Android 11 on a Pixel 3, latest updates for the Plex app. Would really like to see this basic functionality working for a service I’ve paid good money for.
